The clash of the 10th day of Ligue 1 was postponed on Sunday after the Lyon bus was targeted by projectiles. Coach Fabio Grosso was injured in the face and several people were arrested. Two investigations were opened.
The supporters packed up. No Olympian derby on Sunday October 29 for the 10th day of Ligue 1. The meeting between Olympique de Marseille and Olympique Lyonnais was postponed after the bus transporting the Lyon team to the Vélodrome stadium was violently stoned . Eight people were taken into custody and two investigations are open, the prosecution said.
Two injured Lyon coaches
A rain of projectiles, broken windows, the face of the Lyon coach in blood. These are the images that marked the evening, well before the scheduled kick-off time. At 6:45 p.m., the OL players and staff bus was stoned and four windows were broken. “Despite the double glazing, the windows were probably broken by beer cans,” said Frédérique Camilleri, the Prefect of Police of Bouches-du-Rhône.
The team coach receives broken glass in the head. “Blood was seen coming from Grosso’s head, explained John Textor, the president of OL, on Prime Video. The coach received 12 stitches. OL’s assistant, Raffaele Longo, was also hit in the face.
Three quarters of an hour later, four supporters’ buses were this time targeted, one of them very violently, potentially causing injuries.
Five police officers were injured during the incidents which marked Sunday evening, near and in the Vélodrome stadium, announced Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin on Monday October 30 on BFMTV.
According to a police source, a CRS also lost consciousness after being hit with a baseball bat: “He was taken to hospital for tests,” confirmed Frédérique Camilleri.
Eight arrests and two open investigations
Eight people were taken into police custody on Sunday evening in Marseille. Among them, six from Marseillais, some of whom were arrested for their involvement in stone-throwing.one of them had a lot of smoke bombs”details the public prosecutor of Marseille Nicolas Bessone. “The others are two Lyonnais arrested for acts of rebellion against the police”he adds.
A first investigation is opened for “violence with weapons in meetings”, for the stone-breaking of the bus where the Lyon players and staff were, indicates Nicolas Bessone. The second investigation concerns the attack on four supporters’ buses, in particular one of them very seriously injured. “The condition of this vehicle suggests that there were injuries, but no one has come forward at this stage”specifies the prosecutor.
“There will be the strongest administrative sanctions against the people who may have been arrested” announced the prefect. The two clubs indicate that they will file a complaint.
500 police officers and gendarmes were mobilized for this match, also indicates Gérald Darmanin, who refuses to place responsibility on the security system. “Isn’t there a responsibility of the supporters, of the clubs?“, he asks. Last season, there was “103 police officers injured and 870 arrests“, specifies the Minister of the Interior, before emphasizing that”No other sport experiences so much violence“.
Politicians and the world of football react
The mayor of Marseille Benoît Payan judged “the attack on the bus and the Olympique de Lyon players is unacceptable”. “Sport is not that, football is not that“, wrote the mayor various left on X (ex-Twitter).
For her part, the Minister of Sports denounced unacceptable acts last night. It is necessary, says Amélie Oudea Castera, that “the perpetrators are all found and severely punished“.
The president of Olympique de Marseille Pablo Longoria spoke quickly after the Olympico postponement: “It is unacceptable for a group of unconscious people to ruin a football party. It has no place in football or in today’s society.” Some players also spoke. Among them the Lyon defender Dejan Lovren: “This has nothing to do with football anymore! If the law is not changed, one day it will be too late. The government must do something”has in particular writes the footballer.